FTA Region IV Conference

CEE participates in conference held May 28-30 in the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta

The Federal Transit Authority (FTA) Region IV Conference was held May 28-30 in the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta. The event, which was co-sponsored by the Georgia Transportation Institute (GTI) housed at Georgia Tech, shared updates and clarified new guidance and regulations in the transportation area. Several topics were presented at the conference including transportation planning, civil rights, grant making and grant management, oversight, safety and security, and a variety of transit programs.

Featured speakers included FTA Deputy Administrator Sherry E. Little, FTA Region IV Regional Administrator Dr. Yvette Taylor, Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Dr. Gena Abraham, MARTA CEO and General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott, Cobb County Board of Commissioners Chair and Atlanta Regional Commission Chair Sam Olens, and Dr. Michael Meyer, professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and director of GTI. In addition to the speakers, five concurrent breakout sessions were offered in the areas of:

  1. National Environmental Policy Act and Planning

  2. Grants, Programs, and Oversight

  3. Procurement and Partnerships

  4. Best Practices and Innovation

  5. Executive Track

A demonstration of emergency preparedness as well as a technical tour of MARTA were included as part of the conference program. In addition, annual awards were presented to recognize the accomplishments of Transit Partners across the Southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Dr. Laurie Garrow, assistant professor in CEE, who helped co-organize the conference states "working together with the FTA to host this conference has been a wonderful opportunity, and we are delighted to have been part of an event which brought together more than 280 transit professionals from throughout the southeastern United States. Clearly, the opportunity for our students to interact with this community had a tremendous impact on shaping many of their future career goals - five of our students are currently interning with MARTA this summer, and many other of our gradate students are working with transit agencies throughout the U.S. We look forward to continuing this relationship and co-hosting future conferences together with FTA".

The FTA Region IV Office is located in Atlanta, Georgia. It manages over 1,000 active grants, which provide Federal funding amounting to over $4.0 billion. For detailed information about FTA Region IV, visit their website.